


an interpersonal demonstration of newton's third law

by LovelyLessie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Trans Female Character, Trans Female Pidge | Katie Holt, accidental misgendering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25429474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyLessie/pseuds/LovelyLessie
Summary: (3. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.) Lance is just trying to bond when he jokes around with his new teammates. Making fun of each other is just what buddies do, right? He's not TRYING to go straight after anyone's weak spots, after all, and it's not his fault he doesn't know what Pidge is sensitive about. Not that Pidge is taking that into account at the time.
Relationships: Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt, Pidge | Katie Holt & Shiro
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	an interpersonal demonstration of newton's third law

**Author's Note:**

> Set between 1.03 "Return of the Gladiator" and 1.04 "Fall of the Castle of Lions." Warnings in this for (unintentional/unknowing) misgendering/transphobia.

“That doesn’t look right,” Hunk says, leaning over the couch to peer over Pidge’s shoulder as he works. “Are you sure that goes there?”

“Well, it _didn’t,_ to begin with,” Pidge replies without looking up from the half-assembled machinery in front of him. “But I thought if I moved it over here I could use it to connect the fragmentation buffer to the thrust mechanism -“ 

“Ohh,” Hunk says, his eyes going wide, before he frowns. “Wait. What does that _do?”_

“Something nerdy,” Lance calls, leaning back to rest his feet on the table as he shakes his head at them. “What are you guys even doing, anyways?” Whatever it is, they’ve been at it since they all got back from training, but he doesn’t see what’s so exciting about some busted up junk they salvaged from who even knows where, and he’s getting bored of sitting here waiting for Hunk to be finished geeking out. 

“Shut up, Lance,” Pidge says, still not looking up. “I’m trying to use the thrust mechanism to boost the power for the buffer and amplify its effect. If it works we might be able to adapt it to the lions -“ 

“Right, right,” Hunk agrees. “But what good is a fragmentation buffer for our lions? Isn’t that for processing data?” 

“Do you think the lions _don’t_ process data?” Pidge asks, sitting back and pushing his glasses up his nose as he glances over his shoulder at Hunk. “From each other, from the ship, from our heads when we’re piloting them! The buffer could help streamline that input…” 

“And improve our connection!” Hunk says eagerly, his face breaking into a grin. 

“ _Exactly_ ,” Pidge agrees. 

“Well, that’s good for _you_ guys, I guess,” Lance interjects. “Me, I’ve got a great connection with my lion. Blue and me understand each other just fine, so my girl doesn’t need any new modifications, thanks.” Besides, if he wants to get closer to the Blue Lion, he can do it without anybody else’s help. So what if he still hasn’t figured out the trick to seeing through her eyes? Neither has anyone else here, just Shiro, who’s on the bridge talking to Allura about something, and that’s different. Shiro’s the _leader._

“Great,” Pidge says, looking back at the machinery. “Good thing I’m not talking to _you_ about it.” 

“Hey!” he protests, sitting upright. “What, you want to offer your genius improvements to everyone _else?”_ Not that he _needs_ it, he tells himself, it’s the principle of it. 

“That’s so not what I said,” Pidge groans, rolling his eyes. 

“Didn’t you just say you didn’t need it, anyways?” Hunk points out, frowning. “If it even works -“ 

“It’s gonna work!” Pidge says. “I just gotta figure out - how to -“ 

There’s a clicking sound and a crackle in the air, and a blue spark jumps from the metal to his arm. 

“Ow, _quiznak!_ ” he yelps, jumping back and holding his hand to his chest. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.” 

“Don’t get yourself killed,” Keith says from the other side of the lounge, his eyes still closed. 

“Aw, no one asked you,” Lance points out, scowling. He’d almost forgotten Keith was still sitting there, since he’s the only one in the room being even more boring than the nerd squad here. “You okay, Pidge?” 

“Let me have a try,” Hunk suggests before Pidge can answer, and clambers over the back of the couch to sit on the floor next to him. “I know you’re the computer whiz here, but maybe you should leave the reconstruction to a mechanic.” 

“Yeah, that’s my man,” Lance says, grinning. Maybe if Hunk can figure out whatever dumb thing Pidge wants to do with this, he’ll be satisfied, and then they can go do something fun. There’s an awful lot of this castle they still haven’t had much chance to explore.

“Sure, have at it,” Pidge says.

Hunk frowns into the internals of the machine, rubbing his chin with one hand. “Huh. Might need to replace the wires, actually, I think you might’ve fried them -“ 

“It wasn’t me!” Pidge protests. 

“Oh, yes, it was,” Hunk says, tilting the pile of junk so he can see better. “You’ve got residual power in the antethermal capacitor, so if you connect it directly -“ 

“Ugh,” Pidge groans, slapping his forehead with one hand. “Of course.”

Lance laughs. “Guess you’re not such a genius after all!”

“Lance, shut _up_ ,” he says again, casting a glare across the lounge. 

“But if we route the wiring through the kineticule first,” Hunk says, fiddling with something inside the machine, “that should channel the energy more cleanly, so you can hook up to the thrust mechanism without getting zapped, just… like…that!” 

“Yeah!” Pidge cries, jumping up with a smile. “Way to go!”

Lance yawns loudly and heaves a dramatic sigh, hoping that’ll get Hunk’s attention now that he’s done with his lame science project. “Boring,” he tells them both, and jumps to his feet. “Who wants to find Shiro and see if he has anything _actually_ cool for us to do?” 

“Oh, my God, shut _up!”_ Pidge tells him again, his voice rising to a squeak and cracking. He quickly covers his mouth with both hands, cheeks flushing red. 

Lance tries not to laugh, really, he does, but he can’t help it. “Aw,” he manages, “Pidge, you finally hit puberty!”

“ _What?”_ Pidge demands, dropping the screwdriver he’s holding to the floor. 

“C’mon, don’t be like that,” Lance says, still laughing. “It happens to everyone, just ‘cause you’re a late bloomer—“

“It’s not _funny,”_ Pidge says, his voice rising to a shout. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Lance continues, ignoring him. “You’ll be a real man like the rest of us soon enou— _oof—“_

He doesn’t see Pidge move in time to react, barely processes him jumping over the table before a fist connects with his jaw and sends him staggering backwards. 

“Ow!” he yelps, holding his face with both hands. “What the _quiznak,_ dude?” 

“Asshole!” Pidge shouts, glowering at him, fists still raised and ready to throw another punch. “What the hell is your _problem?”_

“ _My_ problem?” Lance asks, dumbfounded. “What’s _your_ problem? I was just joking, you didn’t have to _hit_ me!” 

“Well, your jokes - aren’t - _funny!”_ Pidge yells again. Before Lance can even begin to reply, he spins on his heel and bolting out of the room, footsteps pounding down the corridor until they fade into the distance. 

“What the fuck was that?” Lance asks, forgetting to censor himself in his shock. His jaw and cheek are throbbing, and he can taste blood in his mouth. For a kid that small, Pidge can sure throw a punch. He looks between Hunk and Keith for any kind of answer, but they’re both staring down the corridor after Pidge in open-mouthed silence, and neither of them seems to even remember he’s there. 

* * *

The sound of shouting gets Shiro’s attention, and he jumps to his feet, shoulders tensing, heart pounding against his ribs. Something must be wrong. 

He takes off towards the common room at a run, listening for the commotion to continue, but everything seems to be quiet again, and he doubts it's a good sign. Maybe it’s not the most positive outlook on life, but in their current circumstances, it’s better to assume a disaster is ongoing until he sees it resolved with his own eyes. 

As he nears the common room he drops his pace back to a quick walk, standing upright and ready to take control of the situation. His eyes dart around the room as he enters, taking it in. Hunk is sitting on the floor in front of some kind of dismantled machinery, Keith in a chair with one leg drawn up to his chest, Lance standing in the middle of the room clutching his face, and Katie - _where’s Katie?_

“What’s going on?” he demands, looking between the three other paladins. “Where’s Pidge? Lance, what’s the matter with your face?” 

“He _hit_ me,” Lance whines, and lowers his hands to reveal the side of his face, red and slightly swollen. 

“Hit you?” Shiro asks, frowning, and looks to the others for confirmation. “ _Pidge?”_

“He kind of deserved it,” Keith says quietly, looking away. 

Hunk shrugs awkwardly. “I mean, I wasn’t gonna say it, but…” 

“Come on, guys!” Lance says, pouting. “I was just teasing him! I thought we were bonding, or something!” 

“Is _that_ how you bond with people?” Keith asks under his breath. Lance shoots him a sullen look. 

“Looks like he got you pretty good,” Shiro says, folding his arms. 

“I didn’t even know he could hit that hard,” Lance says. “I mean, what’s he weigh, a hundred pounds?” 

“Hm,” Shiro says. “Why don’t you come to the kitchen with me and we’ll get some ice for that.” 

“Uh, I mean, I can go get it myself,” Lance says, his brows drawing together in confusion. “You don’t have to come with me.” 

“I’m sure you can,” Shiro agrees, resting a hand on his shoulder and steering him towards the hall. “But I’d like to go along, just to be safe.” 

Lance wilts slightly, dropping his gaze to the ground. “Okay,” he mumbles, and shuffles into the hallway with Shiro at his side. 

When they’re around the corner, far enough not to be overheard, Shiro finally asks, “So, what exactly did you say to Pidge that made him angry enough to punch you?” 

“It was just a joke,” Lance says again. “His voice cracked while he was talking, so I said he must be hitting puberty, but I didn’t mean to make him _mad!”_

“I know you didn’t,” Shiro says, keeping his voice careful and level. “But he just came up and hit you for that?” 

“I mean, he got all surprised, and I told him I was just joking,” Lance says. “Only he still seemed all bent out of shape about it! So I said don’t take it so hard, he’ll be a man soon, and _that’s_ when he hit me.” 

Shiro takes a deep breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth in a heavy sigh. He knows Lance doesn’t know just _how_ cruel his comments must have felt to Katie, but he still can’t let it slide entirely. “So, he was clearly upset by your joke, and you made another one?” 

“I just…” Lance says, his shoulders slumping. “Wanted to diffuse the tension, ya know?” 

They reach the kitchen, and Shiro ushers Lance to a chair while he goes to find ice, or something like it. “I understand,” he says. “I’ll talk to Pidge about it. But in the future, if a member of your team is upset by something you said, _maybe_ you should apologize instead.” 

Lance hunches his shoulders, looking downcast. “I was just teasing,” he mumbles. 

Shiro pulls some kind of cryopack out of the freezer, cold to the touch and faintly glowing. He’s not sure exactly what’s in this, but it’s safe enough to cool food, at least for Alteans; he hopes that’s not different for humans, not just for his purposes now but because they’ve all eaten food out of that freezer. 

Wrapping it in a cloth, he hands it over to Lance and rests a hand on his shoulder again. “Thanks,” Lance says, still staring at the floor. 

“I know you didn’t mean any harm,” Shiro tells him. “But not everyone takes well to being teased, and you can’t always know what someone might be sensitive about.” 

“Sorry, Shiro,” Lance mutters, cradling the cold pack to the side of his face. 

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to,” he says firmly. “But if you want to make it up to me, you can do it by paying more attention to how the others are feeling, and treating them accordingly. These are your teammates, Lance, remember. I know it's hard, but you’ll work better together - _and_ have an easier time forming Voltron - if you try to be aware of how your words and actions affect them.” 

“Yes, sir,” Lance agrees, and nods. “I’ll try to pay more attention.” 

“Good,” Shiro says, patting his shoulder, and gives him an encouraging smile. “You might want to give Pidge some time to cool off before you apologize, though. Maybe you could do it later this evening.” 

“I guess so,” Lance says, looking a little put-out. 

Shiro nods and turns away. “I’m going to go talk to him, as well,” he says. “Even if you did upset him, I don’t want my team resorting to violence like that.”

* * *

Pidge stares up at the ceiling above her bunk, her hands still curled into fists even laying at her sides. Her chest is so tight she feels like she can barely breathe, and tears are burning in her eyes, but they won’t seem to spill over even now that she’s stopped trying to fight them back. 

Crying sucks, but not as much as not being _able_ to cry. 

She bites her lip, willing the tears to either fall or just go _away_ already, but it doesn’t help. There’s a lump in her throat the size of her fist, and swallowing won’t make it go away, or make the knot in her stomach loosen. 

Hearing her voice get all squeaky like that was bad enough. It’s not like she didn’t _know_ it would happen, eventually, after her last injection wore off, but it doesn’t make it easier. The last thing she needs on top of it all is Lance taunting her for it.

A knock at the door brings her out of her thoughts, and she turns over to face the wall. “Go away,” she calls back, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t wanna talk.” 

“Pidge,” says a voice from outside. Oh, _quiznak._ It’s Shiro. “Can I come in for just a few minutes?” 

“I said go away!” she yells, her throat going tight as her voice strains, and she swallows hard again, her jaw trembling. 

There’s a pause before Shiro speaks again. “I don’t want to give you orders, and I’d rather talk to you as your friend than as your commander, but this is important.” 

She considers refusing again, but she knows it’s not Shiro she’s angry at. “Okay,” she says with a sigh. “I guess you can come in.” 

The door hisses open, and then shut, and Shiro’s footsteps approach her bunk. After a long moment, he says, “I talked to Lance about what happened.” 

“You didn’t hear what he said,” she snaps back without turning to look at him. “If you were there—“ 

“I would have told you _both_ to take it easy,” Shiro tells her firmly. “I got the gist of it, between him and the others, and I already told him he was out of line. But I can’t have my crew coming to blows over a hurtful joke.” 

She hunches her shoulders, wishing she could make herself small enough to just disappear. “Sorry, Shiro,” she mumbles to the wall. 

He sighs. “You don’t need to apologize to me. Just try to do better.” He pauses for a moment again, and she can almost hear him thinking before he adds, quietly, “Would your father approve of that?” 

She’d seen it coming, but it still feels like a blow to the gut. “You tell me,” she says, her voice trembling a little, her vision blurring. 

“Katie…” Shiro says behind her. 

She swallows hard, screwing her eyes shut. “Dad always hated violence,” she says. “But he also always said there are some people you can’t reason with.” 

When Shiro doesn’t answer she turns to look at him, drawing her legs up to her chest as she sits up. He’s crouched a few feet away so he has to look up at her, his arms folded and resting on his knees, a serious look on his face. 

“When I came out,” she continues after a moment, “he told me, ‘Katie, there are people out there who might try to hurt you for who you are. I’m going to do my best to protect you from them, but if I’m not there, you do anything you need to to protect yourself.’”

She sniffles and looks away. 

“I know I shouldn’t have hit Lance,” she mumbles after a moment. “Even if he knew, I don’t think he’d _hurt_ me. Not the way Dad meant, anyways. It’s just -“ 

Her throat goes tight and she tries to steady herself, taking a deep, careful breath. 

“I was due for my next shot six months ago,” she says in a rush, “and Mom and I were talking before I ran away about how next year I could probably start hormones, and now I’m not gonna and everyone thinks I’m a boy now and - and - it _sucks,_ is all.” 

Shiro nods seriously, brows drawing together. “That’s got to be hard on you,” he agrees. 

She chokes back a sob, the tears she’s been trying so hard to fight suddenly spilling over her cheeks. “I know I overreacted,” she manages thickly, “I should’ve kept my head, I’ve just been - so - so -“ 

“You’re going through a lot right now,” he says, and finally gives her a faint smile. “Trust me, I’ve been there.”

“You have?” she asks, unsure.

He nods again. “Once or twice. I know it’s easy to lose your temper when you’re under so much stress.” 

Pidge laughs shakily, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “I guess so,” she says. “Sorry for, um - all of...this.” 

“You don’t have to be,” he assures her, and stands, crossing the room to rest a hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright, Pidge. It’s a leader’s job to be there for his team, no matter what they need.” 

“Sounds like something my dad would say,” she replies, grinning up at him, and climbs to her feet to give him a hug. 

* * *

Lance sighs as he heads down the hall towards Pidge’s room, his hands shoved in his pockets. Maybe the past two hours have given Pidge time to chill out, but he’s never been great at figuring out what to say to anyone ahead of time, so all Lance has to show for waiting is a bunch of nerves he doesn’t know what to do with and only the vaguest idea of what he’s going to talk about, despite Hunk’s attempts to offer advice. 

Outside the door, he stops, rocks back and forth on his heels with a frown. _Okay, come on,_ he tells himself, closing his eyes. All he’s gotta do is go in there and say he’s sorry and he won’t do it again. That’s not hard. 

He takes a deep breath and knocks.

It’s a few seconds before the door opens, Pidge glaring up at him on the other side. “What?” he asks flatly, folding his arms. 

“Uh,” Lance says, his mouth suddenly going dry. He must look pretty stupid, he realizes, standing here in the hallway gaping at Pidge. “Look, I,” he begins, shifting his weight uncomfortably. “I’m sorry, about earlier. For saying that stuff. I guess I was being kind of a jerk.” 

“Oh, you _think_?” Pidge mutters, his voice all acid, and looks away. 

“Okay, okay, I was definitely being a jerk,” he says, hunching his shoulders. “I shouldn’t’ve made fun of you. I guess--” He makes a face. “I guess maybe Keith’s right, that’s not how you bond with people. I mean, my brothers teased me for stuff all the time when I was younger, and my sisters too for that matter, but that’s kinda different, right?”

“Yeah,” Pidge sighs, and his skinny shoulders slouch. 

“I guess I just thought, joking around and stuff usually makes people like you, you know?” Lance continues in a hurry. “But it’s not really - I mean, making people laugh isn’t the same as getting to _know_ them, and since we’re, like, a team now, I guess we should… try to…”

He trails off, shaking his head. What the _fuck_ is he even saying? This talk is getting into dangerous territory real fast, and anyways, he’s not here to talk about his feelings. _Pull it together,_ he tells himself, trying to refocus. 

“Anyways,” he says, “I just wanted to say sorry. I won’t - uh, I’ll try not to… make fun of you like that anymore.” 

“Thanks,” Pidge says, and rubs the back of his neck. “Um… I’m sorry, too. For punching you, I mean. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Thanks,” he says. “Man, to be honest? I’m kind of impressed! I didn’t think you could hit that hard.”

Pidge laughs at that, and Lance sighs, relieved that the tension seems to have passed. “Well,” Pidge says, “I guess I’m full of surprises.”

“So,” Lance says, offering his hand. “Are we cool?”

Pidge frowns again, looking him up and down. “You better not do it again,” he says after a moment. “I won’t deck you next time, but I _will_ tell Shiro.” 

“I won’t,” Lance says quickly. “I mean, not about that. I’m still gonna make fun of you for being a nerd, though.”

“That’s fair,” Pidge replies, and gives him a crooked smile. “Yeah, I guess we’re cool.” 

* * *

Pidge is surprised by another knock at the door as she’s getting ready for bed, and she quickly pulls on her pajama top before calling, “Yeah?”

“Hey,” Shiro says as the door opens, peering inside. “Can I come in?”

“Sure,” she says, flopping down on her bed. 

“How are you doing?” he asks, leaning against the wall as the door slides closed behind him. “Lance said he talked to you.”

“Yeah,” she replies, drawing her knees up to her chest. “He was actually pretty nice about it.” She laughs sheepishly and rubs the back of her neck, giving Shiro a rueful grin. “I mean, at least he admitted he screwed up, which was more than I expected.” 

“I’m glad,” Shiro replies, smiling back faintly. “You seem like you’re feeling better, too.”

She nods. “Um,” she adds after a moment, “sorry for overreacting like that.”

“Come talk to me next time, alright?” he says, and takes a step closer to put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m happy to help sort out an argument, but I’d rather do it _before_ it comes to blows.”

“Yes, sir,” she says, and looks down. “But, um… I don’t think there will be a next time, actually.”

“Oh?” he replies, raising an eyebrow. 

“I’m...gonna tell the others,” she says. “That I’m a girl. Maybe - maybe not tomorrow, but… soon.”

His slight smile breaks into a grin. “That’s great,” he says, patting her shoulder firmly. “I’m proud of you, Katie. And I know your family would be, too.” 

She laughs, taking off her glasses and setting them aside on the shelf above her bed. “Thanks,” she tells him. “And, you know - I’m actually pretty okay with Pidge.”


End file.
